Jewellery and necklaces in particular have been worn since pre-history as a means to decorate the wearer with attractive ornamentation. Necklaces provide a means to adorn the neck, chest and sternum region with decorative jewellery. Necklaces, by definition, encircle the neck of the wearer. In some cases, this can present a drawback in that the clasp of the necklace can be difficult to manipulate, as it is often located at the back of the neck when worn. In addition, a necklace presents certain ornamental constraints, such as the necessity of decorating the neck itself, as well as often predetermining the exact positioning of ornamental features, due to the constraints of gravity. Moreover, as an alternative decorative effect, it can be desirable to decorate the neck, chest and sternum regions without use of a necklace.
US Patent Application US 2004/0007018 attempts to overcome some of these shortcomings of standard necklaces. This application relates to a necklace that does not fully encircle the neck of the user, but instead, takes the form of a length of jewellery with two free ends, wherein each free end is provided with a fixing device so as to enable the two free ends to attach to the wearer's undergarment, such as a brassiere (bra) across the chest region of the user. Favourable embodiments of this invention require a specially adapted bra to be provided with straps adapted for affixing the item of jewellery.
A further solution is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,042, which provides a jewellery ornament for accentuating a pair of breasts. The ornament comprises an elongate stem with a mount and decoration at one end and a fastener at the other end for pinning the stem to an article of clothing such as a bra. In use, the ornament is held in place by being wedged in the cleavage defined between a pair of breasts with the decoration being visibly displayed. To aid in this, the ornament typically includes at least one support arm extending laterally from the elongate stem structurally configured to abut the user's breast. One of the disadvantages of this ornament is that its use is limited to those users with sufficient cleavage to securely grip the ornament therebetween. Adhesion is also mentioned as a means to support the ornament. Furthermore, the size, weight and to an extent shape of the ornament are limited by the fact that the ornament is prone to pitching forward from the user, particularly when larger or heavier ornaments are used.
There is therefore a need to provide a non-necklace item of jewellery ornament that can decorate the neck, chest or sternum areas without relying on the body shape of the user or adhesion to remain in situ. It would also be desirable to provide the user with a choice of interchangeable decorations for adorning the article of jewellery.
The concept of interchangeable articles of jewellery is known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,398 discloses a small button-like device adapted to receive an ornament on one side, being contoured on the other side and adapted to be detachably secured in the exposed navel of the user. US Application 2005/0072188 discloses a necklace with interchangeable objects for entertaining and pacifying infants and young children.